billcoe

Still a federal offense, but step outside Yosemite national park and it's now just a fine. Good on California. http://thenewsoftoday.com/schwarzenegger-signs-bill-decriminalizing-marijuana-despite-opposing-prop-19/3047/ The California Governor, Schwarzenegger, who opposes Proposition 19, this morning signed a landmark bill in the state of California which decriminalizes the possession of marijuana. For those wondering, this does not make marijuana possession legal, but it no longer will be a misdemeanor offense. Instead of the mandatory fine of $100 as well as the mandatory appearance in front of a judge, the outcome of being caught with marijuana will now simply be a $100 fine. The new law will be in effect on January 1st and include anyone caught with up to an ounce of marijuana. Basically the possession of the drug is seen no different by California now than speeding is. Schwarzenegger signed the bill because it will save the state a ton of money since there will no longer need to be a judge and attorneys appointed to each and every one of the misdemeanor offenses involving marijuana possession. Last year alone there were 60,000 Californians caught with the drug, and in the last decade approximately 500,000 offenders. Schwarzenegger however remains against November’s Proposition 19 (known as Prop 19) vote to legalize the drug.

Round 2! ding ding ding -Nice job and thanks for sharing.

http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/980443/Plaidman_on_the_Nose_report#Post980443 We got pics of you on El Cap. Here's your partner with my haulbag on top of boot flake. You just did the pendulum (red helmet)...?

Whew, looks like we're finally done blaming Bush then. Rahm, the new boogieman. He's probably Al Kaida.

Seriously?

Bizarre. Wonder if any otter words start with T? Here's the Kennedy - Lincoln comparison coincidence again. " * Both presidents were elected to the presidency in '60. * Both presidents were elected to the United States House of Representatives in '46. * Both were runners-up for the party's nomination for vice-president in '56. * Both successors were Southern Democrats named Johnson born in '08. * Both presidents were concerned with the problems of American blacks and made their view strongly known in '63. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, which became law in 1863. In 1963, Kennedy presented his reports to Congress on Civil Rights, and the same year was the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. * Both presidents were shot in the head. * Both presidents were shot in presence of their wives. * Both presidents were shot on a Friday. * Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theatre. Kennedy was shot in a Ford car, a Lincoln limousine. * Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy who told him not to go to the theatre. Kennedy had a secretary named Evelyn Lincoln (who was born 100 years after Abraham Lincoln, and whose husband Harold's nickname was Abe), and she warned him not to go to Dallas. * Both Oswald and Booth were killed before they could be put on trial. * Lincoln and Kennedy each have 7 letters. * Lincoln and Kennedy both have five syllables in their full name (which counts Kennedy's middle initial). * John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald each have 15 letters and 3 words. * There are 6 letters in each Johnson's first name." interesting but partially debunked.

mmmmmm pressed Chicken! "Say hello to mechanically separated chicken. It’s what all fast-food chicken is made from—things like chicken nuggets and patties. Also, the processed frozen chicken in the stores is made from it. Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve—bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this. There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color. But, hey, at least it tastes good, right? High five, America!"

Crazy stuff. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/09/29/okeefe.cnn.prank/index.html?iref=24hours

Dohh! Played hookey from work to go climbing at Beacon and did a lap on the corner with the Uprising finish with Jim today. Sooommmmeeee where in there, the keys fell out of my pocket. Have a large electronic 3 button Honda key and 3 other regular keys on a ring.

A quick glance shows some real nice work Lowell.

Best TR of the season? Woot!

I see what you did there with the title:-) You always crack us up Dave!

Nice Summitchaser! Keep up the good work! Don't let the used douchbags, hemorrhoids, the douchbaghemmoroids, or the haters (the haters will show up later I suppose:-), get ya down. BTW, if ya have any naked action pics of your girlfriend, now is the time to post them. Rock on !! (as someone always says!)

Who indeed? They significantly outperform the Totems on marginal aid placements. Who indeed? ____________________________________________________________________ No. Not like I wanted anyway. That is the selling point of Splitter Cams as well, ie, that they will hold on a single set of cams. In this case against the Totems, the Aliens will also hold in a bombay flaring shallow placement on only 2 of the 4 cam lobes, and better. Same placement, Alien holds and the Totem pulls. I particularly tried to see if the Totems would perform as they say they should Steve: ie, the selling features that they say out perform other cams are holding at a larger angle - I think they even mentioned 40 degrees (which would be pretty damn rad), and holding with a single set of cams, 2 of the 4. Nope. They do not outperform an offset Alien. I had thought, from the marketing hype, that these would outperform in those marginal aid placements. They don't. Not against an offset Alien. They'll stick places where a Wire Bliss will pull though. I need to get the Mastercams out to do the heads up comparisons - and the C3s and the Zeros out as well. But against only an offset Alien, it's damn disappointing. Sorry. That's it. Nope nope nope. Now I have 8 of these. 2 blues, 2 golds, and the rest of the set. Shit. Don't get me wrong, they're not trash. They are a high quality unit. IMO perhaps not as good as a Camalot. However, at $80 a unit, you have something that a high end free climber like Powerhound, as he says above, won't want to try and make work mid crux, and a hard-assed aid climber like Ivan, who weighs 250 something and climbs hard and strange aid, won't want to pay for as well the first time his Totem pops and he rides, then he sticks the Alien in the same spot and walks the route. I mean, if an offset Alien will hold his big ass, but a Totem will fail, why deal with the increased bulk and initial cost of the Totem? Seriously? WTF? Interesting that Wired Bliss are made with T6061,the soft grabby aluminum that Aliens use to use before they went tits up, but they don't perform as well. U need to do the full comparison still. ie, vs c3's, Mastercams, Zeros, Splitters: etc etc. Plus for the Totems vs an Alien....better range. That's about it. I haven't looked at them vs a Camalot. They have the narrower head, dead nutz the same width as an Alien. They do not fit a pin scar like a single stem Alien or Mastercam, more like a TCU, as there are cables on both sides. I suspect that if 100 people were to look at a Camalot, Wired Bliss or Metolius Mastercam unit vs the Totem: 99 percent would pick something other than a Totem. They need a lot of real estate on your rack to start with. They will be much easier to destroy. (A quick look at this as an aiding piece will confirm that this is a piece you NEVER want to loan to the 250 lb Ivan for aiding LOL!) They are more labor intensive to grab and plug. They do not stick, stay, or grab better, they slip out of placements an offset Alien sticks like glue in. And that's the #1 reason to pass on them.....Sadly! Hopefully, I saved someone a buck. If anyone local wants to borrow mine to see what they think, just ask. Right now, Powderhound has the larger 4 (Yellow and Purple and up) and I have the little 4, 3 of which just came in. Anyhooo, I do not value them like I thought I would before I had them in my sweaty little hands. I guess we're working into the long version here:-) Jon and Porter have the full meal deal. We can add this and tweak and it will be all there for all of you to see...and ....to bitch at:-)

Yesterday, Steve caught that Tom Evans had Plaidman and partner getting to the top of El Cap Tower and "climbing strong" while others bailed from the extreme heat. Today, here's a great shot of Scott on the Swing with his partner on Boot flake as the moon rises. Still in the 90's (FAHRENHEIT)down there. Wow! Doesn't look like they're bailing. God that's so hot up there. The sun is on it real early, and it's unrelenting all friggan long day long. Wishing them the best and may they find some leftover water while on route. GO SCOTTY GO!

Pass = don't waste your money. Went out and tried some placements in comparison with a Silver/Red Alien to the Purple Totem. The Totems are well made, no worries. However, the Silver/Red offset Alien would stick places the Totem cam couldn't. The Totem cam never stuck anywhere that the Alien couldn't - this includes trying to get only a single side (only 2 of the 4 cams) to stick in a shallow bombay flare. Win = Alien offset. Given the price of the Totem's, $80 each and then some, just buy some Wired Bliss or Metolius for a very comparable cam with less bulk on your rack but much cheaper, or get used offset Aliens off Ebay for tricky aid. There, that's the medium length version.

Pass

Greg up there (Poster G orten) has written 3 or 4 of the most recent guidebooks, thick pretty books: so we're not ignoring you as much as we are all deferring this question to him. http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Climbing-Western-Oregon-Rogue/dp/1879415461/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_2

LOL! He swung by after work one day in a convertible with the business suit and tie thing. As he approached the porch where I was with my wife and daughter, I think he could have had both of them right there from the way they were purrin.... BTW, nice job! Put a Totem cam report in the gear section for the bros if you feel like it.

Decided to just blow it off today. I can't say if it's the little aches and pains, or the drain and let down of not going out and doing new routes at a new area, but I can't get motivated to head out on what will be one of the best weather days today. My passion has left the building. [video:youtube] The thrill is gone. This ever happen to you or someone you know, and what did you or they do about it?

Just because everyone is discussing nut jobs, which you are: and you think everything is about you.... I'll clue you in since you don't have a clue: it's not about you this time. Hope that helps ya!

This would be the 3rd time, depending on how you count it, we were directly involved in tossing out the person in charge over there and putting our own dictator in then. Curiously, most Americans are still unsure why the Iranians have issues with us on this. Let's call the 3rd one - ?????

I don't have sound at work. I did see the bell Helicopter comment. All I have to add is that fortunately, Mexico has great gun control laws. They successfully got all the guns out of the hands of honest people, who are now preyed on by both the out of control Police and the drug cartels. They say 150,000 citizens marched in Mexico City, protesting all the kidnappings which they mostly blame on Police Officers.

Anything worth saying once is worth saying twice. LOL! None taken and can totally relate. After @ 358 new bolts, I noticed that my actual climbing skill level had dropped radically. Decided to leave the drill alone and go climb cracks again. PS, I have some brand new Totem cams and I'm thinking Ivan, Powderhound and I will be soiling them most egregiously out at Beacon tomorrow. Wander over if you want to fondle one.....or worse better yet, have your way with one.